Yarn feed assembly



July 29, 1952 E. ST. PIERRE YARN FEED ASSEMBLY 2 SHEETS-SIIEET 1 Filed'Nov. 22, 1949 Fla. 2.-

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July 29, 1952 E. ST. PIERRE YARN FEED ASSEMBLY 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 FiledNov. 22, 1949 Hill:

X/VVENJ'OR: E 45 5TB/E Patented July 29, 1952 YARN FEED ASSEMBLY EugeneSt. Pierre, Pawtucket, R. I., assignor to Hemphill Company, CentralFalls, R. I., a corporation of Massachusetts Application November 22,1949, Serial No. 128,693

3 Claims. 1

This invention relates to a new and useful improvement in yarn feedingdevices for circular, independent needle, knitting machines.

One form of the device is shown in the drawing, of which:

Fig. l is a plan view;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged partial side elevation;

Fig. 4 is a front elevation corresponding in extent to Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a still further restricted partial side elevation illustratinga position assumed by the device; and

Fig. 6 is a similar front elevation.

As shown, the device consists of a body I suitably supported on thecarrier ring of the machine which is slotted as at 2 which slot ispartially closed by cover plates 3 and 4 so that a slide-way is formedwithin which a slide 5 can move vertically. Afiixed to slide 5 or anintegral part thereof is yarn lever e. Projecting laterally from slide 5is a stud l positioned so as to be engageable with an adjustable stop 8whereby the downward limit of movement of yarn lever or yarn feedingfinger 6 is determined. Slide 5 is also provided on its other side withanother pin 9 to which is attached one end of a spring 10, the other endof which is held by a bracket I I so that yarn lever 5 is urgedupwardly. Body I is also provided with a curved extension l2 which formsthe support for a pivot screw I3 upon which is pivoted a memberconsisting of an upwardly extending arm l4 and a lateral extending arm15. As best shown in Figs. 1, 4 and 6, arm M is bent so that its freeend overlies the upper end of slide 5. This end of arm I4 is providedwith an adjustable stop l6 overhanging the upper end of slide 5. Arm l5overlies a lever l'i pivoted to a suitable bracket !8. Lever IT isprovided with a slot l9 along which a pin 29 is able to move. Pin 29 isfixed in one end of another lever 2| pivoted to bracket it at 22 andpivotally connected at its other end 23 to a rod 24 which in turn isoperatively connected to a pattern drum (not shown) provided withsuitable operating cams. The unit consisting of arms i l and i5 is urgedby spring 25 into the position shown in Fig. 2 in which stop It overliesthe upper end of slide 5 as already explained.

The device above described operates as follows. If end 23 of lever 2| islowered, the opposite end of lever I? will also be lowered with theresult that yarn lever 6 is pushed down to its lowest position indicatedby dotted lines in Fig. 4. At this position, pin 7 will rest upon stop8. It is to be assumed that this position of yarn lever 6 is lower thanthe normal yarn feeding position and is to insure that the yarn is lowenough to be properly taken by the needles.

If lever 24 is now raised sufficiently, yarn lever B will be raised tothe full-line position shown in Fig. 4 at which it engages stop If).This may be assumed to be the normal yarn feeding position. Thisposition may, of course, be varied by adjusting stop [6 so that thefeeding position is independent of the exact position of lever l1,

When yarn lever B is to be moved out of yarn feeding position, rod 24 israised still further with the result that the opposite end of lever I!is also raised. This in turn will raise arm l5 which will swing arm Mout of its vertical position so that stop l6 will no longer overlie theupper end of slide 5 and slide '5 will be moved to its uppermost,inactive position by spring I!) or as shown in Figs. 5 and 6. A stop 26(Fig. 2) limits the movement of levers 2| and I! to that required forthis purpose since excessive movement of those levers might swing arm l5so far that spring 25 would be unable to bring it back. To bring yarnlever 6 back into feeding position, end 23 of lever 2| is lowered whichcorrespondingly lowers the opposite end of lever ll so that yarn lever Bis carried to its lowermost position as already described. At the sametime, arm [4 is swung back into its vertical position by spring 25 sothat it is again in position to limit the upward movement of yarn lever6 to its yarn feeding position.

It is always desirable that the cams on a pattern drum have a uniformmaximum height so that they can be cut from standard cam rings. Itsometimes happens that this standard height does not provide suflicientmotion for the usual type of operating mechanism to move a device suchas a yarn lever through the required distance as would be the case ofthe device described above. The device of this invention makes suchmoves possible without undue complication. Also, the device of thisinvention permits of accurate positioning of the yarn feed at its yarnfeeding height irrespective of small amounts of lost motion in theoperating mechanism.

I claim:

1. A yarn feed assembly for a circular, independent needle, knittingmachine which includes a vertically slidable yarn feeding finger, meansoperatively associated with said finger for permitting it to moveupwardly, a displaceable stop for limiting the upward movement of saidfinger, said means also constituting means for lowering said finger to adesired lower position and for displacing said stop so that when saidstop is displaced said finger can move to a position higher than thatpermitted by said stop.

2. A yarn feed assembly according to claim 1 in which said means alsoserves as a stop tolimit the extreme upward movement of said finger.

3. A yarn feeding assembly for a circular, in-

dependent needle, knitting machine which in- 10 in said direction topermit said finger to move 15 further in said direction, and means forso moving said stop.

EUGENE ST. PIERRE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS

